contemplating the intersection of work, the global economy, and Christian mission

Oct 15, 2008

Four Keys to Modern Prosperity: Capital Markets (Part 1)

CAPITAL MARKETS

Throughout most of human history there have been two major factors in economic survival: Land and labor. These are referred to in economics as means of production. The overwhelming majority of people throughout history have spent their lives growing crops and raising livestock to provide for their own needs. As recently as 1885, in the United States, people produced more than 80% of what they consumed.

Some societies, for whatever reasons, were able to achieve agricultural production in excess of population needs. This freed up intellectual and physical labor for other pursuits like religion, government, and military. Some were able to become artisans specializing in certain trades. Some societies become powerful enough that they could enslave their neighbors, forcing slaves to provide for their agricultural needs while they pursued other activities. Still, the percentage of those who were engaged in non-agricultural work was very small, even in the most impressive ancient societies like the Chinese Dynasties, Egypt, and Rome. Land and labor were the primary means of economic production.

The unprecedented rise in prosperity over recent centuries is tied directly to the emergence of a third means of economic production: Capital. The idea of capital has always been around but until recently it has been limited by two major constraints. First, something has value only if a buyer has something to exchange that the buyer values less than the item for sale, and the seller values what the buyer has to offer more than the item the seller is selling. The networks of buyers and sellers have always been extremely limited due to travel and access to information. Second, amassing enough resources (other than through plunder and taxation) to undertake large scale projects over long timeframes was exceedingly impractical.

By way of analogy, imagine that you wanted to buy a house but there is no money. First you would have to find out what items the seller would accept in exchange for the house. Then you would have to take inventory of your possessions and convert them through economic exchange into items the seller wants.

Take this analogy a step further. What if you are only able to come up with twenty percent of what the seller wants? Now you have to find some people who will lend you goods that you can convert into goods the seller wants, while in turn agreeing to pay back the lenders with goods they value. Now take this analogy to the level of building a skyscraper or a passenger jet. Accomplishing this level of commerce is all but impossible.

From the simple task of exchanging three one dollar bills for a gallon of milk to investing in a mutual fund, few of us realize how completely revolutionized our lives have been by the formation of money and capital markets. As boring as it may seem, the development of capital markets is one of the most transforming factors in human history.

Early Capitalism

The term “capital” first came into use in the fourteenth century to identify funds that have the capacity to return income, rather than simply being of consumable value. Thus, in early usage, “capitalism” referred to the use of wealth (or money) to earn wealth (or money). Put another way, the word “capitalism” implied using wealth to provide income with the intention that the initial value of the wealth would not be reduced, as with money lent at interest. It is investment, the systematic risking of wealth in pursuit of gain, that distinguishes the capitalist from those who merely exact their wealth through rents, taxes, conquests, or banditry. (1)

The fathers of the early church shared the Greco-Roman world’s general disdain for business and trade, and gave little theological reflection on the topic. This began to change by the fifth century. Augustine maintained that the price of a good was not simply determined by the seller’s costs but by the buyer’s desire for the product. This was an important step toward thinking in terms of supply and demand. (2)

Not long after the collapse of the oppressive Roman Empire, innovations began to occur. Farmers discovered a three crop rotation system that proved far more productive than the universally practiced two crop rotation system of the Romans. It created more fertile soil and generated greater production. (3) Monasteries owned vast amounts of land and put the new farming practices to work. These new practices increased production and, in combination with frugal lifestyles, led to the creation of considerable wealth for the monasteries. Other innovations like the invention of the horse harness around 1000 C.E. also contributed to production. Monasteries often took their resources and invested them in more land, further increasing their wealth. (4)

The increased prosperity brought people to the monasteries seeking trade. Eventually, at least one day a week was set aside for a market fair. People gathered at monasteries to barter and trade. At first they traded primarily with the monastery, but later between each other as well. People began to permanently settle around the monasteries. Many of these monasteries grew into present day European cities.

Eventually the monasteries began to specialize in one type of product (cattle, grain, wine, etc.) and then trade with each other for their other needs. This specialization led to further improvements in productivity and quality, but it also made trade considerably more complex. In response, they moved away from a barter economy and began to introduce a cash economy. Money was used for exchange instead of direct bartering.

The monasteries were by far the wealthiest institutions in Europe. They began hiring laborers to do the work at the monasteries, freeing them to engage in a much wider variety of scholarship and religious activities (like selling indulgences.) Since advancement in the monasteries was based on merit instead of feudal caste considerations, it ensured that only the most effective managers rose to the top. When lords and rulers needed to borrow, the monasteries and the Church were the only lenders of consequence. The monasteries became the proto-capitalist multi-national corporation.

Meanwhile, as the crusades developed in the early part of the second millennium, a great many Europeans began making pilgrimages to the Holy Land. This was an exceedingly dangerous and expensive undertaking. Carrying large amounts of wealth made one a target for bandits. The Knights Templar emerged to protect people who took these pilgrimages. Soon they developed their own economic structures. The knights would sell a chit (a tally sheet) to a pilgrim. The pilgrim would stay at way stations provided by the knights along their journey. They could purchase goods in the Holy Lands from merchants approved by the knights. At each stop, charges would be added to the chit using encrypted code. When the pilgrim returned, the chit was remitted to the issuing knights and the pilgrim either received back what had not been spent or was issued a bill for what had been spent in excess. Meanwhile, the Knights settled the bills between themselves at there various locations.

It wasn’t long before the Knights also realized they could prosper by making similar arrangements with merchants traveling not only to the Holy Land, but on other trade routes through Europe as well. Usury was prohibited by the Church so the knights opted to “rent” the chits out to pilgrims and merchants, collecting them at the end of the journey. This careful use of semantics kept them from running afoul of the Church.

The Knights Templar began to experience reversals in their military endeavors by the thirteenth century. Their military prowess had waned considerably by the beginning of the fourteenth century but they still controlled a vast amount of real estate and wealth. Meanwhile, European aristocracies were growing in power. When the Knights Templar and King Philip IV of France came into conflict of over a loan the King had received, King Philip persuaded the Pope to bring a variety of charges against the Knights. Some members were arrested in 1307. Some were tortured and eventually executed. Exactly what became of the Knights and their holdings is not accounted for in the historical record, making them a frequent subject for conspiracy theorists and story tellers.

The Knights may have vanished but their knowledge and systems of commerce survived them. As Europe entered the Renaissance, the growth of capitalism emerged from another sector. ...

(1) Rodney Stark, The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success, (New York: Random House, 2005), 55-56.